On raising finance
1) Able to explain all slides, all vocabulary
2) If need to go into more detail, say so.
1. The world’s top financial centres
“Indices from the World Bank, the OECD, the United Nations and the Economist
Intelligence Unit.”
- These are major international organizations that publish global indices and
data about countries.
o World Bank : provides global economic and development data
(poverty, GDP, education, etc.).
o Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) –
produces statistics and policy research mainly for developed
economies.
o United Nations : publishes global indicators such as the Human
Development index.
o Economist Intelligence Unit: a research division of The Economist that
creates rankings like the Democracy Index and cost-of-living reports.
→ refers to colonizing
The global financial centres index (GFCI) = ranking of the competitiveness of 119 financial
centres based on over 74,982 financial centre assessments, together with over 100 indices
from organisations such as the World Bank, OEDC, the Economist Intelligence Unit and the
United Nations. It is compiled and published twice a year by Z/Yen Group. It is wildly quoted
as a source for ranking financial centres.
,Parameters :
- Human capital
o Skilled workforce
o Flexible labour market
o Business education
- Business environment
o Regulation
o Tax rates
o corruption
- Financial sector development
o Volume and value of trading
o Cluster effect of financial companies*
▪ = *companies attract others, & this attracts money
- Infrastructure
o Office space
o Public transport
- Reputation
o Innovation
o Brand appeal
o Cultural diversity
Which are the global financial centres
- New York : NYSE : list : NASDAQ, Dow Jones…
o New York City’s financial district (FiDi) around « Wall Street »
the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalisation
▪ NYSE on Wall Street (market cap: $44 trillion in January 2026)
▪ NASDAQ (market cap: $42.2 trillion in January 2026)
Stock market indices
- London : London Stock Exchange
Wallstreet of London: city of London
Building: St. Pauls Cathedral
(Greater) “London” = City of London + 32
boroughs (including City of Westminster)
London is een metropool, City of London
en Westminster zijn ‘delgemeenten’
(=boroughs). City of London is het
financiële centrum.
, Monument to the Great Fire of London: 2nd fire during world war
Why is Brussels not in the top 10?
- Unstable government, not good news for business & the high taxes
o Euronext 1285: Brugges
- Financial crisis: 2007-2001 Fortis-Dexia
- Competition from other countries
o Lower taxation
o Deregulation →jobs go to Luxemburg, Amsterdam and Dublin (and
China, India & Singapore)
o Red tape: a lot of rules, negotiations
▪ overmatige bureaucratie, administratieve rompslomp en verstikkende
regelgeving, vaak bij overheden. Het verwijst naar onnodig trage
procedures die besluitvorming belemmeren
, What does Brussels have?
- Euroclear:
When banks or investors buy/sell shares, bonds and funds (= securities),
Euroclear makes sure that
o the buyer gets the securities and
o the seller gets the money.
Euroclear ~ a highly secure warehouse for securities.
Stock exchange: you can buy
- shares (issued by companies)
- notes and bonds (issued by companies or governments)
- ETFs (exchange-traded funds)
- commodities
o Commodity = verhandelbaar, gestandaardiseerd product (bv olie)
o Raw material = fysieke grondstoffen, weinig bewerkt (bv hout)
▪ Difference: buy & sell on the stock market
2. Start-ups - scale-ups - unicorns
Traditional SMEs Startups
→ Physical assets (=collateral) → Venture capital
Unicorn = startup that has grown exponentially & has reached a valuation of 1 billion USD. A
unocorn is not listed on the stock exchange.
Venture capitalists
- Funds, investlent groups : bv BAN Vlaanderen
- Business angels
Seed capital = the initial equity funding used to launch a startup, covering early costs like
market research, product prototypes → money they can use to grow.
IPO = initial public offering: first time a company goes on the stock exchange
Blue chips : form the basis for conservative investment portfolio’s (bv Coca Cola). These
companies have proven to be established. Blue chips have a high value (poker).
Prospectus = numbers of the company, you need to read the prospectus before you invest.
Market cap = shares x value → easy to determine.
Market value = to determine value, also for small businessed that are not listed.
Public-private partnerships = partnership between a company and the government
- Why ? the government has no money. The private parnter leases/rents it to the
government → project development, Lago …
1) Able to explain all slides, all vocabulary
2) If need to go into more detail, say so.
1. The world’s top financial centres
“Indices from the World Bank, the OECD, the United Nations and the Economist
Intelligence Unit.”
- These are major international organizations that publish global indices and
data about countries.
o World Bank : provides global economic and development data
(poverty, GDP, education, etc.).
o Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) –
produces statistics and policy research mainly for developed
economies.
o United Nations : publishes global indicators such as the Human
Development index.
o Economist Intelligence Unit: a research division of The Economist that
creates rankings like the Democracy Index and cost-of-living reports.
→ refers to colonizing
The global financial centres index (GFCI) = ranking of the competitiveness of 119 financial
centres based on over 74,982 financial centre assessments, together with over 100 indices
from organisations such as the World Bank, OEDC, the Economist Intelligence Unit and the
United Nations. It is compiled and published twice a year by Z/Yen Group. It is wildly quoted
as a source for ranking financial centres.
,Parameters :
- Human capital
o Skilled workforce
o Flexible labour market
o Business education
- Business environment
o Regulation
o Tax rates
o corruption
- Financial sector development
o Volume and value of trading
o Cluster effect of financial companies*
▪ = *companies attract others, & this attracts money
- Infrastructure
o Office space
o Public transport
- Reputation
o Innovation
o Brand appeal
o Cultural diversity
Which are the global financial centres
- New York : NYSE : list : NASDAQ, Dow Jones…
o New York City’s financial district (FiDi) around « Wall Street »
the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalisation
▪ NYSE on Wall Street (market cap: $44 trillion in January 2026)
▪ NASDAQ (market cap: $42.2 trillion in January 2026)
Stock market indices
- London : London Stock Exchange
Wallstreet of London: city of London
Building: St. Pauls Cathedral
(Greater) “London” = City of London + 32
boroughs (including City of Westminster)
London is een metropool, City of London
en Westminster zijn ‘delgemeenten’
(=boroughs). City of London is het
financiële centrum.
, Monument to the Great Fire of London: 2nd fire during world war
Why is Brussels not in the top 10?
- Unstable government, not good news for business & the high taxes
o Euronext 1285: Brugges
- Financial crisis: 2007-2001 Fortis-Dexia
- Competition from other countries
o Lower taxation
o Deregulation →jobs go to Luxemburg, Amsterdam and Dublin (and
China, India & Singapore)
o Red tape: a lot of rules, negotiations
▪ overmatige bureaucratie, administratieve rompslomp en verstikkende
regelgeving, vaak bij overheden. Het verwijst naar onnodig trage
procedures die besluitvorming belemmeren
, What does Brussels have?
- Euroclear:
When banks or investors buy/sell shares, bonds and funds (= securities),
Euroclear makes sure that
o the buyer gets the securities and
o the seller gets the money.
Euroclear ~ a highly secure warehouse for securities.
Stock exchange: you can buy
- shares (issued by companies)
- notes and bonds (issued by companies or governments)
- ETFs (exchange-traded funds)
- commodities
o Commodity = verhandelbaar, gestandaardiseerd product (bv olie)
o Raw material = fysieke grondstoffen, weinig bewerkt (bv hout)
▪ Difference: buy & sell on the stock market
2. Start-ups - scale-ups - unicorns
Traditional SMEs Startups
→ Physical assets (=collateral) → Venture capital
Unicorn = startup that has grown exponentially & has reached a valuation of 1 billion USD. A
unocorn is not listed on the stock exchange.
Venture capitalists
- Funds, investlent groups : bv BAN Vlaanderen
- Business angels
Seed capital = the initial equity funding used to launch a startup, covering early costs like
market research, product prototypes → money they can use to grow.
IPO = initial public offering: first time a company goes on the stock exchange
Blue chips : form the basis for conservative investment portfolio’s (bv Coca Cola). These
companies have proven to be established. Blue chips have a high value (poker).
Prospectus = numbers of the company, you need to read the prospectus before you invest.
Market cap = shares x value → easy to determine.
Market value = to determine value, also for small businessed that are not listed.
Public-private partnerships = partnership between a company and the government
- Why ? the government has no money. The private parnter leases/rents it to the
government → project development, Lago …
